The Darkness Comes
by nine-orcids
Summary: Belle and her spinner were married before the Ogre Wars, and before he became the Dark One. Ten years after he returned home to an empty shack, Rumpelstiltskin shows up in Avonlea. He's come to deal for his wife and the son he's never met. AU Rumbelle
1. The Darkness Comes

_I don't own Once Upon a Time… T-T_

Belle watched her son run through the field, so happy in the sunshine. Baelfire had learned to walk not too long ago, another milestone in his life his father would never see. Her husband, the spinner, had been called to the front two years ago. Their son had been conceived on the fight before he was to report for training.

Six months ago, she'd held hope that he would return to her soon when word had reached their small village that the war was over. Five months ago, she had happily prepared herself for when she would once again enter her husband's arms as the first men began to return.

She'd given up all hope of ever seeing her love again when one of the men, the town blacksmith, had come to her and explained that Rumpelstiltskin's unit had been decimated within three months of being on the frontlines. She'd been a widow for well over a year, and hadn't even had time to grieve for her loss before men started showing up at her door to pay court.

One such suitor was named Rueben, and he was one who had sought her hand before her marriage. As the headman's son, he was used to getting everything he wanted and so had come with pretty words and already made plans. Within an hour of setting foot within her hut, he had already explained the way he saw their lives panning out. He even when as far as to ask if she had any far off relatives who would take in her son.

"Can't have you hooked onto a bastard child when you bring my sons into the world," he explained cheerfully.

"Sons?" she questioned, not yet able to understand what he was trying to imply.

"Well we must have children after we marry," he explained with a leer, "as if I will be able to keep my hands off you. You've already proven you can bare strong boy children, even if it was for a worthless cur such as Rumpelstiltskin the Coward."

She stiffened at the inclination.

"Sir, I must ask you to leave," she spoke with no emotion in her voice.

"What?" he questioned.

"Leave my home sir!" she commanded angrily. "You come to the place I shared with my husband, talking about something I swore to only have with him, when the wound of his passing is still fresh. You imply that I must marry you, when you haven't even inquired whether I want to, and send away the only link I have left to the man I was supposed to honor and obey until I die.

"You have insulted me sir in a most unforgivable way, and I wish you to leave my house and never return," she snarled, barely able to reign herself in.

"Belle, darling," he began, smiling as if he were trying to placate a child as he reached for her.

"You will not address me so familiarly sir," she snarled again, stepping back to avoid his touch.

"Very well Ma'am," Rueben sneered in return, suddenly angry.

The man fled then, and she was barely able to keep the tears in long enough for him to get out of sight. She had waited faithfully for her beloved Rumpel to come home to her, dreaming of the embraces they would share when he returned. He would never come back, just as he would never know she had borne him a son.

With tears still cascading from her cheeks, she began bustling around the cluttered room collecting things she would need for her and her son. There was no way she could stay in the home she had shared with the man she had believed to be her True Love.

She would go to Avonlea to seek out her mother's family and perhaps learn something about the man her mother had fled from.

"Bae, darling, wake up," she whispered to her slumbering son, wanting to look into her husband's eyes. Holding his sleeping form to her, she looked around their home once more.

"It's time for us to leave this place…" she whispered as the door closed behind her with a slam, closing shut on the best chapter of her life.

**X-x-X**

Rumpelstiltskin limped painfully towards the home he hadn't seen in many years, longing for what awaited him inside. The seer had told him that his actions on the battlefield would leave his son without a father.

He had hobbled himself and been imprisoned for his attempted desertion. Rather than hang him as he thought they would do, the other soldiers took his skills as a spinner and put them to use sewing up wounds in the sickbay tents. He hadn't been free to go when the other troops had been released, instead being forced to stay and help with the many wounded.

He was free to go home to his wife, whom he had burned for many a day, and to his son, who he couldn't wait to see. They would raise their son in a household full of love, perhaps giving him many siblings to play with.

"Belle," he called out happily as he stepped inside, breathing in the faint scent of his beloved.

It took a moment to register that the hearth was cold, and that his wife had yet to answer. The air was stale in the little hut, as if no one had been there in some time, and certain things were missing. Things he knew for a fact that Belle wouldn't leave without.

Belle was gone, and so was their son.

She hadn't waited for him, as she said she would.

The thought was enough to bring him to his knees as he began to cry. The thought of his beautiful Belle and their child were the only things that got him through hell. When he had finally escaped so that he could come home to them…

His family was gone and he was all alone in the world again.

That was all it took to send him swirling into darkness.

**~ X - 10 Years Later - X ~**

"My Lady, your father requires you in the throne room," the servant's voice interrupted her reading.

"Yes, thank you Mrs. Potts," Belle answered, frowning at the honorific. Even almost eight years later, it was hard to get used to her new station in life. She wasn't able to persuade the servants to call her by her given name, for in their eyes it was improper.

She quickly made her way toward the throne room/ war room of the castle, smoothing out the skirts of her golden colored dress. The gown had belonged to the previous Lady of the castle, but she had simply altered it rather than let them buy her a new wardrobe.

She was still a simple Spinner's wife at heart, even when it was discovered she was of noble birth.

Upon reaching Avonlea, it was discovered that she was the daughter of the local Duke and his mistress. His wife had made him swear not to remarry until he found a bride that looked exactly like her. He had promised his love this, but had been unable to retain from the pleasures of the flesh.

He had taken his wife's cousin to his bed forcefully, and the encounter had resulted in a pregnancy. When he found out, the Duke had decided to marry her. She looked enough like her cousin for him to keep his promise to his wife. But rather than suffer that fate, the girl had fled with her child. She ended up married to a lowly woodcutter to save her child the fate of being a bastard before she died in childbirth. Belle had loved her foster father, but could not deny her true parentage.

Lord Maurice, also known as the Merchant King, had swiftly brought her into the castle. He entrusted her to the care of many tutors, given the task of grooming her to be a good wife to his chosen heir of the Dukedom. When he found out about Bae, he had been sure the child was illegitimate and wanted to cast him out into the streets. It had taken her awhile to convince him the child was legitimate, as she had been married at fourteen.

Now His Grace wanted her to marry one of his knights and produce a child of royal blood instead of one that was tainted by that of a commoner.

He had chosen for her husband, a knight named Gaston. A man he already looked at as a child of his own blood and had been grooming as his heir when Belle came into his life with her son.

Maurice had been able to keep the secret of his dalliance with the girl's mother and only Mrs. Potts had truly had access to his wife on her sickbed. They told everyone she had been borne from her mother's cousin, and raised by her parents in their seaside home. When the old couple had died, she had come home to them with her "charge."

The whole of the staff believed the boy to be a bastard as well and so treated him as such when his mother wasn't around.

They lived in Avonlea unhindered and mostly carefree for years, before the ogres came. The very same creatures that had taken her husband from her had come to her new home, and they had gained strength.

The beasts easily swept through their defenses, causing the wedding of Belle and Gaston to be put off.

Before they knew it, the Fourth Ogre War had been going on for three years and they were right on their doorstep. In order for them to live, there was only one thing they could do.

They had to summon the imp.

When she entered the throne room she spotted him easily, as he was most out of place. The Dark One was of a short stature, a hood covering his features. He spoke with a nasally voice and flamboyant hand gestures, a maniacal giggle thrown in here and there for good measure. From what they could see of his skin, it was scaled with a golden sheened green flesh. His teeth were dirty and crooked, filed to points to match his claw like black fingernails.

"We sent you a promise of gold," her father snarled angrily, his heavy robes doing a bad job of hiding his shaking.

The beast smirked and shook his head, his gold hand entering the air.

"Well, you see, I uh… _mak_e gold," he informed them. "No, what I want is a bit more special. My price… is _him_."

The men followed his finger, which was pointed at Belle. Peeking out behind her layered skirt was a small brown headed child that had snuck in at the last minute.

"Done!" Gaston agreed quickly, grabbing Belle and dragging her away from her son.

"NO!" she screamed in anguish, doing her best to fight out of her future husband's grip. "Don't take him from me, please!"

"It's him or no deal," the Dark One insisted. "Just say the word, and your little keep and its people will be safe."

"What would you want a bastard?" Maurice demanded, going to help his future son-in-law restrain his daughter.

"I'm in need of a caretaker for my rather large estate," the imp answered with a giggle, motioning for the boy to come forward.

"There's no deal!" Belle screamed at him, trying once more to fight her way to her son.

"Very well," he agreed, turning and beginning to walk away.

"Hey wait!" Baelfire called out, rushing forward.

"Yes dearie?" the sorcerer snapped, stopping to look over his shoulder.

"If I agree to your deal, everyone will be safe from the ogres?" the eleven year old demanded.

"Aye, but keep in mind that it will be forever dearie!" the deal maker explained.

"I want you to add in another part of the bargain, and I'll agree to it," the boy haggled.

"Oh, and what's that?" the Dark One wondered.

"I want you to promise me that my mama will be safe."

The taller of the two considered him for a moment before nodding, "Aye dearie, she'll be safe to marry her Lover over there."

"She doesn't love him," the boy lashed out angrily, "she loved my papa. He was her true love. I agree to your price."

"Bae, no!" Belle screamed once more, finally breaking free of her captors. She hurried over to her son and knelt beside him, her hands on his shoulder to make him look at her.

"Darling, what are you doing?" she demanded, doing her best to hold back tears.

"I just want you to be safe mama," he whispered in return. "Aren't you always telling me, 'Do the brave thing and bravery will follow?' I just want to be brave like papa…"

"Take me in his place!" she pleaded, turning her gaze to the dealmaker. "Please, he's all I have left!"

"You would willingly give up your life of luxury and your handsome fiancé over there for the son of a coward?" he questioned, holding her gaze.

"I will do anything for my son," she answered in return. "and for his father. I was married to the love of my life when our son was born, and I would give anything to go back to that hovel with him."

The Dark One smirked evilly at her, showing off his fang like teeth.

"That's not what I heard dearie," he goaded her, "for I knew your husband ma'am. The Spinner from the Frontlands, if I am not mistaken."

She gasped, drawing her son closer to her.

"How do you know that," she demanded.

"He called me to him," he answered her, forgetting they had an audience. "After returning from the Ogre Wars, he expected to return home to his beloved wife. Wouldn't you be surprised to find that he came home to an abandoned hut and a story from one of his dear friends about her running off with a knight to live in luxury?

"Darkness consumed his soul, for he was alone in the world. No wife… no son… even though it was thoughts of his family that got him through hell! Darkness had found a new home in him, and he welcomed it gladly!"

The imp let out another giggle as he finally threw back his hood so that those gathered could finally see his face.

He was different now, with scaled skin, long curly hair, and those wide reptilian eyes, but his base features were the same.

"Go on," he ordered his wife, "tell them my name poppet!"

"Rumpelstiltskin," she whispered, almost in fear at what the man she loved had become.

"You're not taking our son from me!" she told him, pulling the boy against her. "He only goes if I come along!"

"Belle, no!" Maurice screamed rang out, but he was ignored.

"I forbid it!" Gaston joined in, his hand flying to his sword.

"No one decides my fate but me!" she answered them. "And my son goes nowhere unless I join him."

"Very well!" Rumpel said with a tittering laugh, clapping his hands as if he were a small child.

"You will never leave this keep monster!" Gaston hollered, charging toward him.

The sorcerer just smiled and waved his hand, causing him and his prisoners disappear in a cloud of violet smoke.

**X-x-X**

When the smoke cleared, Belle and Baelfire found themselves in a room covered in dusty shelves cluttered in various mismatched objects. A fireplace roared in one corner, and a simple spinning wheel with a basket of straw stood at the ready next to it.

"Well then, this is cozy!" a voice giggled behind them.

They turned to see the dealmaker lounging at a long table, a teacup in hand as he watched them. He then gestured to the china tea service waiting on the table.

"Please, help yourselves," he instructed, taking a sip from his own drink.

"Very well," Belle agreed, sitting to his left as she began to fix cups for herself and her son.

"I suppose you would like to know your tasks," he asked.

"Yes, we would," she agreed, handing Bae a cup and patting the seat beside her.

"My lady, you will serve me my meals and clean the Dark Castle," he began, pointing at her. "You will dust my collection and launder my clothing. Your son is free to help you with your tasks. However, his main duty will be to look after my horses, in the stables, as well as fetch me fresh straw when I am spinning at the wheel…"

Bae nodded, cautiously taking a sip of his tea as if to see if it was poisoned.

"Oh, and he will be responsible for skinning the children I hunt for their pelts!" the Spinner added as if it was an afterthought.

Belle dropped the cup she had been holding in shock, gasping at him. Baelfire spit the tea he had just drank out, gaping.

Rumpel let out another giggle and wagged his finger at them. "Don't worry dearie, that one was a quip, not serious!" he assured the boy, who startled him when he let out a soft giggle in return.

"Right," his mother breathed, looking relieved. She bent down and picked up her dropped cup, turning toward him uneasily.

"I'm sorry, it's chipped," she told him, holding it up for inspection. "You can hardly see it, but…"

"It's just a cup!" Rumpel said in confusion. "It's easily replaced."

"Yes, well…" she answered, setting it back on the table.

"It's all a joke really," he added, taking another sip of tea. "I don't expect my wife and child to work in their own home when magic is perfectly able to do the job for them. You may go and do as you wish here."

"The kitchens are through there," the man instructed, pointing towards a purple colored curtain that most likely concealed a door. "There is also a door out into the courtyard to your left. You can easily find your way to the stables from there. Both of you will find rooms prepared for you on the second floor, but be warned. If a door does not open for you, don't try and force your way into it. Do not try and leave the grounds or there will be consequences. The North Tower is off limits to both of you.

"Boy, go and see to the horses please. Your mother and I must speak privately for a moment."

Bae looked to his mother, who silently nodded. The boy padded toward the door, heading through it only after he cast a last look back at them.

When the door closed behind him, Rumpelstiltskin turned to look at his wife.

"Now that our son is out of the way, we will talk you and I," he snarled as he rounded on her. "It is clear that there is something you want to say."

He smiled at her outrage, placing his cup back on the table as he stood to make his way over to his spinning wheel.

"How could you say something like that to a child? Rumpel, what's happen to you? What's become of the man I love?" she demanded, whispering as she reached out to take his hand.

He slapped her hand away, causing tears to form in her eyes.

The Spinner had stiffened when she began talking, but let out a bark of laughter at her words.

"I think I'll take you tonight dearie," he said suddenly, rubbing his chin in thought as he changed the subject. "It's been far too long since I've had my wife's body."

"Rumpel," she whispered again, unsure of what to do now. It was obvious by his body language that he no longer wished to discuss their son.

She was ashamed at herself, for his words had sent tingles down her and straight between her thighs. The thought that her husband might soon rest there again filled her with longing, for she had missed that particular aspect of their marriage.

"I've lived ten years without the comfort of another body to warm my bed. You will join me no less than three times a week. I am not a cruel man, so it will be on nights of your choosing of course. If you fail in this duty, your son could meet with some sort of accident," he said, his eyes lingering on her figure.

She gaped at him, not having expected that task to be on her list of duties.

"Will we share a bedroom, as a husband and wife ought to?" she enquired curiously, praying that the answer was yes.

"No, I believe that just three nights a week shall suffice," he answered her, feeding straw into his wheel. "You are to return to your chamber whenever I am finished with you after each meeting."

"So I am to take the path of Mistress to my own husband, is that correct?" she demanded angrily.

"If you wish to put a title on it, then yes that is what you are my Lady," he answered, glancing up at her. "Now off you go dearie, and tell the kitchen what you would like it to prepare for dinner. Be sure and come to my chambers once our boy is abed."

**X-x-X**

Bae couldn't quit talking about the horses or his new father that night. She had told him many tales over the years about the man, and the boy saw him as a hero. He was too excited about the fact that he finally got to meet the legend to sleep.

It took a while to extract herself from his new bedroom. She didn't have any time to prepare herself for what was coming. Belle hesitantly knocked on his door, silently berating herself for being excited at the coming trial. Many a night she had touched her own flesh in the dead of night, doing her best to imagine it was Rumpel's hesitant touches. She had cried his name out proudly, her release always brought on by the thought of him doing unspeakable things to her body.

"Come in!" his voice came from within, giving her permission to step inside.

He stood before the fireplace, the roaring fire within the only source of light in the room. His back was to her, but she could see that he was already nude. She felt herself become wet and longed for him to turn around so that she could see him.

"Undress yourself and lay down on the bed, back up," he instructed, turning to face her at last. She caught a glance of his cock, still soft and useless between his legs.

She quickly did as she was told, but she got stuck when she was down to her corset.

"I'm sorry sir, but I need help. My maid always removes these for me…" she called over her shoulder, turning to watch him as he came towards her. He gently began attempting to undo her lacings. He stepped back when he was finished, and took himself in hand as he watched her remove the last of her undergarments.

She moved to lay on the vast pile of soft furs and tanned animal hides that seemed to pass as his bed, laying on her stomach as she was instructed. She glanced over her shoulder again as he moved towards her prostrate form. The fireplace, the only source of light in the room, was behind him and cast his face in shadows. She couldn't see his expression as he stroked himself as he came ever nearer to her.

"Get on your hands and knees dearie, and put your ass towards me. This will be over before you know it," he instructed, positioning himself on his own knees behind her.

"Rumpel, what are you-" she began, stopping to let out a loud moan as she felt him guide himself into her slick folds.

"That's right love, take all of me," he whispered into her ear, reaching around her to cup her breasts. "It's going to be a long night!"


	2. Storm Clouds Form

_I don't own Once Upon a Time… T-T_

The acts that had taken place in the darkness of the night before had turned out nothing like she expect. The lovemaking she had shared with her husband had always been slow, gentle, and her husband had paid special attention to her to make sure she came before seeing to his own pleasure.

The Dark One, on the other hand, had been quick, rough, and cared not if she had enjoyed herself or not. He had mounted her like the animal he believed himself to be and taken what he wanted from her. The things that had taken place in his drafty bedchamber had meant it as rape, so it had shocked him when she begged for more of the same. It had been his name she had called out on the brink of her own release. He'd taken her even more franticly, spurred on by the cries of pleasure she'd let out as he sank into her over and over.

It had hurt though, that he took her like a common whore and in such a position. Their joining had been the first she'd felt since he'd last filled her. She was unused to the exercise after being so long without it.

She also found herself sore whenever the morning light finally came streaming in through the window. It hurt her to move, for her husband hadn't allowed her time to readjust to him. She had fallen asleep in his arms, but had awoken by herself in the chamber he had indicated were hers.

Entering what she assumed was the dining room, she was surprised to find Rumpel and Bae already gathered at the dining table.

"…then that blasted Hatter showed up from who knows where, and we got out of there before the townspeople could through us on the fire with the broomstick!" the new father told his son, using his hands to help him tell the story.

Bae burst out laughing, tears falling from his eyes.

"What happened after that Papa?" he demanded, reaching up to wipe away the moisture with a grin.

"Then I made Jefferson give me back my gold for losing such valuable artifacts. The witches I was crafting them for weren't too pleased with the wait, I can assure you," Rumpel answered, reaching for his teacup. Belle was surprised that he didn't seem to react to being called "papa."

"Ah, I see your mother is awake," her husband said in surprise, looking at her over the edge of his cup. The very same cup that she had chipped the day before, as it happened.

"Aye, I am," she agreed, coming to set across from her son, who was seated on Rumpelstiltskin's left. The imp waved his hand, causing a loaded plate to appear before her.

"Please, eat," he told her, gesturing with his cup.

"Very well," she replied, reaching for her fork and taking a bite of egg. Almost the minute the food hit her tongue, she wanted to spit it out. The eggs, while they looked correct, they had no taste whatsoever.

"Yes, that is one drawback of magic… you must always pay a price when you use it. In this case, when one makes food with magic, one must sacrifice something that goes along with it," Rumpel explained, taking a sip of his tea. "That's why I always prepare tea by hand."

"He also cooked for me Mama," Bae said, taking another bite of his food.

"That was very nice of his sweetheart," she smiled, trying her best to swallow her mouthful of breakfast.

"So how did you sleep dearie?" her husband asked with a smirk, leering at her over his glass.

"Just fine, thank you for asking," she answered, choosing not to look at him.

"Where were you Mama?" Bae asked curiously. "I woke up from a nightmare last night, but you weren't in your room."

"She was most likely in the library," the boy's father answered, "as I seem to remember she always had a fondness for reading."

"She does," Bae agreed. "Lord Gaston and Lord Maurice were always complaining about it."

Rumpelstiltskin considered the boy for a moment before quietly asking, "Why don't you call him 'grandfather' lad?"

"I used to call him that, but he hated it. Told me to start calling him 'Lord Maurice' when I was old enough to understand," Bae answered.

"His Grace was convince Baelfire was a bastard child, most likely conceived by rape," Belle further explained for him. "He felt that it would be an insult to his lineage for such a slight to be allowed to continue. He wanted me to give my son up to a childless couple to raise. He and Gaston were very angered when I refused and kept 'parading around my shame' around the townspeople."

"So what are you going to do today darling?" she asked her son, changing the topic of conversation when she noticed the dark mood that had descended over them.

"May I go and play with the horses again today?" he asked in excitement, already half rising.

"Yes, you may go… just be back in time for lunch!" she called after his already retreating form.

"Ye ma'am!" he replied, turning to look at her over his shoulder as he disappeared through the door.

"What of your plans for the day, my Lady?" the Dark One questioned.

She smiled in answer.

"Perhaps you can point me in the direction of that library you mentioned?"

**X-x-X**

Their new routines quickly took shape around them as time went on.

Belle spent a vast majority of the day cooking and cleaning the Dark Castle. The magic of their new home only cleaned rooms that were used frequently, and the food it prepared tasted horrible. She spent her evenings reading to her son in her library and her evenings, after Bae had gone to bed, was spent in her husband's bed.

Baelfire found all sorts of things on the grounds to amuse him, from the horses in the stables to the long unexplored abandoned hallways in the vast keep. He always had something to occupy his days. He fell into bed early every night, exhausted from the days playing.

Rumpelstiltskin, when not off making deals or experimenting with magic in his tower laboratory, was most likely to be found at his spinning wheel. He could also sometimes be found making up for lost time with his son, teaching him swordplay or just listening to him prattle on about some new subject. In the dead of night he loved nothing more than to enter his wife's body over and over, making her scream as he took her to new heights.

But although he would love to keep her in their bed twenty four hours a day, everyday… he kept to his promise of letting her decide when she came to him. His Belle did as she was told in coming to him at least thrice a week, but he would be lying if he didn't long for more.

"_Belle_…" he called out, almost like a prayer as his voice echoed around the large chamber. He was touching himself in the darkness of his bedroom some weeks into their new life.

The majority of his blood had been occupied somewhat south for a better portion of the day, no matter what he did to try and relieve the tension. Tight leathers weren't the best thing to wear when one had a raging hard on.

Potions had no effect on his problem, for he had already tried magic, and spinning was out of the question. He'd been avoiding his wife and son since before breakfast, even though he knew a certain curly headed beauty was the solution to his torment. He couldn't go to her thought, for it went against the deal he had made with her that first day.

It also went against her wishes, for his problem kept him from sleeping. He'd been wondering around the castle earlier on in the night, and had come across the sight of his beautiful Belle curled in one of the chairs in her library. She had been without her heavy velvet dress, her skirt drawn up over her knees so that she could easily reach her own pleasure spot.

Her soft groans had rushed down his spine, hardening his already erect member. He licked his lips as he watched her fingers move in and out of her dripping center, wanting nothing more to move towards her and taste the juices straight from the source.

"Please!" he heard her whimper, and he paused in his task thinking for a moment that she had seen him.

But she continued on in her pursuits, he knew he was safe from discovery.

"Right there, just a little more!" Belle whispered, almost to herself as she did her best to imagine it was her husband strong fingers she was riding into oblivion instead of her own. "I'm almost there!"

She would give anything for it to be him causing such sensations to course through her body, but she had already reached her limit for the week. It was always a struggle for her to decide when it was a good time to use one of her three nights to visit him, and she was usually able to hold off for a few days.

This time around however, she had used her nights up early in the week. Yet in the days left of the week, she still longed for his touch. Taking care of herself just wasn't the same as his warm touch. But he had made it clear he was only using her to satisfy his own needs, and his needs only required her presence three times a week. She was on her own for the rest of the time.

So the spinner was not alone in his longing, but they suffered by their selves because they refused to beg their partners for a night of the other's time. The image of his lover fixed firmly in his mind as she tried to get rid of the burning in her loins by herself proved to him that his wife only put up with him because he had threatened her son.

Sometimes he wondered what she must think of him, if she believed he could actually harm their boy. The child was proof of the love they once had for each other and there was no way he could ever mar that.

He came into his hands with a breathless cry, all the while longing for the woman down in the hall that wanted nothing more than to be secure in his arms.

**X-x-X**

Sir Maurice and his heir paced back and forth in front of the fireplace in the War Room, trying to come up with a plan to get Belle back from the dark imp.

Now that her bastard was gone, she would be the perfect match for the future Duke. Even though she was already spoiled, he didn't care. She had already proven herself able of bearing strong sons, a trait he wanted in his future spouse. Regardless of the fact that it had been the Dark One that had taken her innocence, in the minds of the people it equaled nothing. He was not a true man and therefore not able to deflower a maiden. They believe he used magic to impregnate the Duke's only daughter. While it tainted her, she could still be cleansed with the help of the clerics.

"My Lords," one of the knights of the fiefdom said, sticking his head through the door. "Forgive me for interrupting you Sirs, but her Majesty is here to see you your Grace."

A relieved look crossed Maurice's face, a burden visibly lifted from his shoulders. They had sent a missive to their late liege Queen Regina, widow of the old King Leopold, to beg for help in retrieving Belle. The loyal vassal had serve the Lady's husband faithfully and felt that his daughter had no right to his service. Not after what she had done to the gentle king to gain the throne.

"Maurice, my dear friend, I came as soon as I heard!" Regina said sympathetically as she swept into the room, her vast black skirts swishing as she moved.

"Your Majesty, thank you for coming in our time of need," the Duke said. "I must ask, how is your esteemed father?"

"Daddy is doing well, and sends you his regards," the Queen answered with a smile. "He sends his hope that we are able to rescue your daughter before it is too late."

"It is our hope that we can rescue my betrothed as well Milady," Gaston said, joining in.

"What of her boy… Baelfire is it?" the Evil Queen asked curiously.

"He is of no concern of us," Maurice admitted, "but more of a thorn in our side. The Dark One is welcome to him if it means I can have my daughter back safely."

"What of the girl's… purity, if I may ask," Regina continued. "You must understand, the beast has most likely been rutting her. What if she is with child again?"

The Duke paled at the thought as he and Gaston exchanged worried looks.

"If there is something Milady can do to rid of her of the potential pregnancy that won't harm my future bride, it would be most welcome," the knight admitted.

The Queen smirked in reply, "Leave everything to me good sirs, and you shall have your girl back in no time. If all goes to plan, we shall all be rid of an enemy as well."

"Thank you, your Majesty," Maurice spoke for the both of them, motioning for one of the guardsman to come into the room.

"Tell Mrs. Potts to prepare a room and meal for our guest, I'm sure she's very tired from her long journey," he instructed the man, following him from the room.

"I thank you for your hospitality Your Grace," Regina called after him, but her eyes trained on the other knight in the room.

"Sir Gaston," she all but purred, "it is a mystery to me how your fiancé could take up with that creature in the first place when such a magnificent body was in front of her for the taking."

The sportsman smirked in response, bowing before his queen.

"Many thanks for such a compliment Milady," he answered, "but no one could compare in looks next to your loveliness. May I escort you to your room?"

The queen smiled coyly and took his offered hand, "I believe it would be most welcome my dear."

**X-x-X**

Grace, daughter of the portal jumper and mushroom gatherer, walked cautiously through her foster uncle's stone hallways. Papa always told her to be careful when visiting the Sorcerer because one never knew what they would find in his home. It had been some time since she had last come to the Dark Castle, and it was the first time she had come without her papa. But her father had always told her to come to her Uncle if anything ever happened to him, and she hadn't seen him in almost a week. Papa was never gone that long.

Lost in her musing, she realized that she didn't know exactly where in the castle she was. She had visited often enough, but she had never had the chance to really explore like she wanted to. She couldn't remember ever being in this particular corridor.

"Hello?" the gatherer's daughter called out, almost frightened as she prayed her uncle heard her.

"Who's there?" an unfamiliar voice called back, follow quickly by the form of a boy about the same age as her… maybe he was a few years older now that she thought about it.

"I'm Grace," she admitted. "Who are you?"

"Bae," he answered, "but what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for my unc- Rumpelstiltskin. Is he near?"

"He is in the Dining Room, spinning, I think," Bae admitted, pointing the way he had come.

" I didn't know Uncle Rum had a servant…" she muttered to herself, realizing to late that she had let slip her pet name for the Dark One. He had told her never to reveal her connection to him, even if he was only her adopted uncle.

But it had to alright, if this boy was his servant… Uncle Rum would have made sure that he couldn't tell of anything that happened in the Dark Castle!

"Uncle?" Bae asked curiously.

"Your father has been my Papa's best friend ever since I can remember. He's basically my Uncle, and right now I need his help," she admitted.

"Well what are we waiting for, come on!" the strange boy said, suddenly excited as he grabbed her hand and began to run down the hallway. "Let's go find him!"

The boy led her effortlessly through the many dusty passages, so many twists and turn that she wondered how he remembered them all. Before she knew it though, she was in familiar territory- otherwise known to her as the trophy room.

Rumpel was in his usual corner working at the spinning wheel. He had paid her father with the gold thread he magically spun from that wheel many a time. She used to love playing with the thin yellowish string of metal that had once been plain straw, like that that made up her mattress.

"Uncle Rum!" she called, breaking away from her new friend as she hurried toward the scaled man.

"Gracie, I didn't know you were coming to visit!" the Dark One said in happily, abandoning his work to catch her as she made to jump into his waiting arms.

"What are you doing here sweetheart? Where is your father?" he demanded suddenly, looking around to notice a certain mad portal jumper wasn't anywhere to be found.

"I don't know," she admitted into his shoulder, where she had laid her head. "He started acting weird when the Feather Lady came and visited us. He made me hide in the woods while he talked to her. Then a week ago, he said he was going on a job and he left with a weird shaped box. I haven't seen him since, and I'm worried about him! Papa's never been gone this long before."

"It's alright dearie, we'll find him," he assured her, patting her on the back as she began to let out soft sobs.

"Rumpel?" Belle asked quietly.

He looked up to see her standing in the kitchen doorway, a dusting rag in hand as she watched him interact with the little girl.

"Have the castle prepare young Grace's room… it's the one decorated in pink two doors down from Bae's," he instructed her. "Then send a meal up for her to the North Tower, if you will. I imagine she'll be quiet famished by then."

"Yes, of course…" his wife agreed, curiosity plain on her face.

"I'll explain later dearie," he said in answer to her unspoken question, taking his new charge in his arms and disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Mama," Bae asked curiously, "how come Papa hugged her, but he never touches me?"

"I don't know sweetheart," she replied, "I don't know."

She hesitantly knocked on his door that evening, for she both wanted his touch and wanted to talk to him about their guest.

He answered after a few moments, only opening his door enough so that he could stick his head out.

"Belle!" he said in surprise when he saw her in his doorway, moving the door slightly wider as he stepped out. She was able to see the girl curled up in one of the chairs by the fireplace before it slammed shut again.

"Tonight isn't a good night dearie," he told her, his face impassive. "I believe it would be a good practice to stay in your own rooms after Baelfire has been put to bed as long as our guest is here. Don't worry, no harm shall come to the boy."

"But-" she began, only for his to hold his hand up to silence her.

"Go on dearie," he instructed her, turning to re-enter his chambers. "We'll speak about this no more."

"Who is she?" Belle demanded suddenly.

"What?" he asked, turning to face her.

"I asked who that little girl is that she receives more attention than your own son!" Belle snapped, suddenly angry. "Why is she so special?"

"Her father is the closest thing I have to a friend," he admitted, "and he's Grace's only living parent. Jefferson has gone missing after making her a promise, a promise I know he would never willingly break. Bae has another parent to look after him, but Grace? That little girl is alone in the world, and I'm the closest thing to family she has right now."

"I understand that Rumpel," she admitted, drawing her shawl tighter around her shoulders, "but does Bae? All he knows is that the little time you spend with him during the day was ignored today, and it's all because of that little girl."

She turned and began walking away, only to be stopped when he yelled after her.

"It's my fault!" he yelled, his voice echoing off the stonework. "My fault that that Bitch went after Jefferson!"

"What?" his wife asked curiously as she stopped and turned to hear what he had to say.

"The woman that took Grace's father… she's a monster of my own creation, and this is all my fault. I have to set it to rights," he admitted, making his way over to her as he encircled her waist.

"Who are you talking about love?" she asked. He placed his nose into the groove where her neck and shoulder met, breathing in her sweet sent. She reached up to entangle her fingers in his wild hair, softly moaning his name when he sucked her at her pulse.

"I can't think when you do that dearie," he whispered into the curve of her neck, delivering a gentle bight to her soft skin.

She pressed herself into the cradle of his hips, grinding into him as she felt the hardening proof of his desire on her thigh.

"Belle, we can't…" he whispered, moving up to claim her lips. "Not here-Grace!"

"Then we go to my room!" she answered, reaching down to grasp his hand. "It has a bed just as yours does… isn't that all we really need?"

"Yes…"

The two made their way to her room, shutting the door firmly behind them as they each began removing clothes that would soon just be in the way. She began walking backwards, her hands dragging her husband with her as they made their way to the bed.

"_Belle_…" he breathed happily, bending down to nip at the pebbling tips of her breast.

She arched into his touch, allowing him to take more of her nipple into his mouth as his hands traced strange shapes down her stomach. His fingers dipped still lower, parting her legs to slip inside her body and caress one of her most sensitive places.

"Rumpel, please!" she gasped, feeling her body rushing toward the precipice and all but ready to plunge into the waiting gorge below.

"That's it love, come for me!" he told her gleefully, abandoning her breasts to focus his attention on her lower half. His head dipped down, his ruff tongue joining his calloused fingers in their searching for new sweet spots.

He was flooded with her taste as he happily lapped at his wife, wanting nothing more than to stay here forever. For just a little while, he forgot that they had ever been separated. He forgot that she had almost been joined to another man, that he barely knew their son, that his best friend was missing, and most importantly… he forgot that he was the Dark One.

They allowed themselves to join together in a time old dance, letting the feelings of love carry them away.

* * *

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